How our new tools can help you create a Carrotmob campaign

We’ve just launched a new section of our website to help you create campaigns. Here’s an example of what your experience might be like as you use them:

First, you can watch an intro video which explains the basics….

Most likely you will want to learn more before starting a big project like this, so we’ve written up a detailed “resources” page that describes everything that goes into creating a campaign…

Some of you will read this whole thing right away! The rest of you will get restless and click “Start a Campaign”.

Then, in case you have gotten the wrong idea, we ask you to agree to a few basic guidelines, such as “I will not attack a business.” Basic “need to know” stuff.

Next, you arrive at your organizer dashboard! First, you need to figure out the basics of your campaign. Who is going to plan this campaign? What will you ask a business to do? We’ve created a document to help guide you through this process…

All great campaigns so far have started offline, and we think that’s great. People like meeting with their friends and colleagues and brainstorming. We could have built a website to make that entire process happen online, but we didn’t because we don’t believe that’s what organizers want. So you may want to print this document out, bring it to a meeting, and if you don’t come back to your online dashboard for a couple weeks, that’s fine! If you want, you can use our optional worksheet to help you answer basic questions, such as what topic you will focus on:

Or, if you’ve already figured out plans with a business, fill out the commitment agreement and get it signed!

Then, upload it!

Uploading the agreement means you’ve figured everything out, so you’ve now unlocked the ability to create an official campaign page!

Let’s imagine that you’ve come up with campaign, and made a deal like this with a local restaurant:

IF we spend at least $10,000

THEN the Krusty Burger in downtown Springfield agrees to remove 12 spots from it’s parking lot and 1) install a bike rack and a bench 2) plant a lawn and a big shady lemon tree which will help reduce the carbon footprint of Krusty Burger’s lemonade.

As you build your campaign page you will enter topics that describe your campaign:

Since this campaign has several actions, we can add another “details” section to keep the main explanation concise:

Fill in everything, including a photo, and then submit it!

As soon as we approve your campaign, you will have your own campaign page to share with the world! (click image to enlarge)

You are automatically RSVP’d as attending, and you can invite your friends. See that little “i” button below the “Then” section? That is a link to the signed agreement you uploaded, and anyone in the public can view it. This helps keep the business (and the organizer) accountable to everyone.

Click on the updates tab and you can post updates as you go to make sure your mob is kept in the loop! For now, this is just a very basic blog, but in the future, your posts here can be emailed or texted out in real-time to all of the people who have RSVP’d to your campaign. That way, if there’s a last minute change, you’ll be able to reach everyone without relying on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

You can continue to edit your campaign information at any time. No one else can see this option.

Also, your campaign will appear to anyone browsing the campaigns section of our site (thanks to Kickstarter for the design inspiration):

Your main goals leading up to the campaign should be to get as many people as possible to click “I’m Going”…

…and after that, to share with their friends:

Soon after your campaign happens, the RSVP button will automatically disappear, and be replaced by an image that says “Changes Pending”:

Go back to your organizer dashboard, and you’ll discover that the “Followup” section is now available to you. Enter the information about how much money was spent, and it will appear on your campaign page. You may need to wait a couple months for the new lemon tree to get planted. Once all the promised actions are done, get a photo or video as evidence that the action is finished. Enter this info…

…and when you save, your campaign will now be listed as “completed”…

…and a new “Campaign Impact” section will appear at the bottom of your campaign page, to show off what you’ve accomplished!

That’s all there is to it! We have many more great features we will introduce in the future, and for now we’re very interested in hearing your feedback!

Join the mob!

The fastest and easiest way to join Carrotmob is by connecting with your Facebook
account. You will also be able see what your friends are doing on Carrotmob and quickly
share some of your activities with your network. To learn more about how this works,
read this. If you
are curious about the permissions we're requesting of your Facebook account,
read
this. Clicking this button will NOT post anything to your Facebook wall.